Growing up, you may have been given reasons for not smoking marijuana. What you may not have heard is that marijuana, like other pollen-bearing plants, is an allergen which can cause allergic responses.

Synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"), with names like Spice, K2, Scooby Doo and hundreds of others, are often sold as a "legal" alternative to marijuana. Often perceived as a safe legal alternative ...

(AP)—Ten-year-old Alexis Carey has a rare but intractable form of epilepsy, Dravet Syndrome. The genetic diseases causes severe and multiple seizures, which often leave parents guessing if the terror of watching their child ...

A study on the perceived risk of regularly using cannabis and the characteristics associated with these perceptions found that non-white, low-income women over the age of 50 were most likely to perceive a ...

(AP)—Republicans lawmakers in Florida who once opposed medical pot are now embracing it, motivated by the strong show of support from voters and worried that another constitutional amendment during next year's presidential ...

Colorado already is being sued by two neighboring states for legalizing marijuana. Now, the state faces groundbreaking lawsuits from its own residents, who are asking a federal judge to order the new recreational ...

When you think about substance use and teens, drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy might come to mind. But recreational prescription drug use is a significant problem. Nationally, 17.8% of high school students have used prescription drugs without a prescription in their lif ...

The "munchies," or that uncontrollable urge to eat after using marijuana, appear to be driven by neurons in the brain that are normally involved in suppressing appetite, according to a new study by Yale School ...

While debate about recreational marijuana use continues, researchers are investigating the effectiveness of cannabis for treating pain, spasticity, and a host of other medical problems. In a symposium organized by the McGill ...

Marijuana legalization proponents are gathering in San Francisco this weekend to hear about efforts to add the nation's most populous—and arguably most pot-infused—state to the four others where it is ...

(AP)—A government report says the number of drivers who get on the road with alcohol in their systems has declined by nearly one-third since 2007, but there has been a large increase in drivers using marijuana and other ...

Cannabis (drug)

C. sativa L. subsp. sativaC. sativa L. subsp. indica

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, marihuana, and ganja (from Sanskrit: गांजा gañjā, hemp)a[›], refers to any number of preparations of psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. The most common form is the natural herbal form.

The herbal form of the drug consists of mature female flowers and sub-tending leaves of pistillate (female) plants. The resinous form, known as hashish, consists primarily of glandular trichomes collected from the same plant material. The major psychoactive chemical compound in Cannabis is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), commonly referred to as THC. At least 66 other cannabinoids are present in Cannabis, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN). Many of these cause some psychoactive interactions.

Marijuana is seen in strains of either pure breeds or intra-specific hybrids of Cannabis, typically of the subspecies indica or sativa. Strains are developed to highlight a specific combination of properties of the plant or to establish marketing differentiation.

The human consumption of Cannabis smoke is found as long ago as the 3rd millennium BC. In modern times, the drug has been used for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. The United Nations estimates that about four percent of the world's adult population (162 million) use cannabis annually and about 0.6 percent (22.5 million) daily. The possession, use, or sale of psychoactive Cannabis products became illegal in most parts of the world in the early 20th century. Since then, some countries have intensified the enforcement of cannabis prohibition while others have reduced the priority of enforcement.